Les Portes du Soleil, France
Les Portes du Soleil Holiday Homes - Portes du Soleil Chalets
Les Portes Du Soleil is a large region of the Alps encompassing twelve resorts between Mont Blanc in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland, popular for winter and summer holidays.
For a winter holiday, the region offers 50km of marked pistes and about 201 lifts in total, spread over 14 valleys and about 400 square miles, it takes in 24 mountain areas and 50 summits and thanks to one ski card pass you can travel around all of them effortlessly – a must when renting a holiday rental chalet or apartment in Les Portes du Soleil, France! There's also 385 kms of winter trails to be discovered on foot or with snowshoes. There's also “kite ski”, snowboarding and cross country skiing with easy access to instructors for all.
The lower slopes of the Portes du Soleil, have their snow pack supplemented by snow-making canyons to extend the skiable season during the warmer months. Snow is guaranteed from the end of December to the beginning of April and Avoriaz is considered the best location for snow due to it's highest altitude, but generally this whole area has a great reputation for good snow.
The mountain resorts of Champéry, Val-d'Illiez-Les Crosets-Champoussin, Morgins, and Torgon are linked to the Franco-Swiss domain of the Portes du Soleil. This is a paradise in summer for mountain biking, horse riding and hiking with 24 cable cars, 380km MTB trails, 800km hiking trails and again just 1 lift pass!
Of course, life by the lakes...Taney, Salanfe, Lac Vert, Lacs d'Antème is very relaxing in the summer when you visit Les Portes du Soleil. And at Val-d'Illiez and Lavey-les-Bains there's thermal baths. Or try the beautiful hiking tours of the Dents-du-Midi or the Dents Blanches for stunning views.
This region appeals to children too as there's leisure parks, educational and thematic trails and animal parks. Culture lovers should not miss the historic town of St-Maurice. Monthey is the place for an evening out at the theatre or for shopping and Le Bouveret and St-Gingoph ideal for lakeside & water sports, and a cruise on Upper Lake Geneva is not to be missed.
Climate wise this area is sunny and snowy in winter, with it colder and more likely to be foggy in the valley. Summers are around 60F admittedly not that hot but when the sun shines it's known to really burn, sun factor is recommended all year round. By September the tourists are usually leaving as it gets rainy.
The best airport to travel to your holiday rental in Les Portes du Soleil, is Geneva, with airport transfers leaving every 45 minutes. It's possible to fly to Lyon and travel in from there by car hire or train and taxi too. It's also a six hour car journey from Paris and nine from Calais.